Following our review of the New Consumer, let’s look at how selling itself has changed in the recent years:
What Selling Used to Be
- Knowledge was fragmented.
- Salespeople worked a process and funnel.
- Prospecting was huge in the past.
- Questions ruled the sales process.
- Salespeople were either prospectors or closers.
- The sales pitch was very important in closing.
The New Sales Funnel
- Prospecting has changed–in fact, it’s dead.
- Approaching milestones is now based more on content and subscriptions.
- Qualifying is much more focused and oriented on self-service.
- Presenting is 100% customized and focused.
- Closing will always be an art.
Stay-in-touch Automation has become a critical part of the New Sales Funnel. Here’s a brief list of extremely useful approaches that generate leads and keep interest going:
- Email Newsletters – Collect email names and send newsletters monthly.
- Webinars – Develop a free 45 minute Webinar to present quarterly.
- Podcasting – Reach a massive audience for free on iTunes through at least 10-minute audio files.
- Blogs – Keep a running journal of value-added content that informs and tells a story.
- Website Content Updates – Develop a process of regular updates to your Websites.
- Content Distribution – Send content out to Websites visited by your target market.
- Social Media – Drive content and relationships through social media platforms.
Utilize these services to keep yourself at an advantage in a market that has changed. Despite some of the changes in how we approach sales and marketing, there are fundamentals that will never change.